A Dream Worth Keeping
by IviMarie
Summary: Chapter 3 is up! What if what Hatori thought was the end of a dream really was only the beginning of one? HatorixOC
1. Deja Blue

**Disclaimer**: I, Tori the Fanfic Fan, hereby testify that I do not under any circumstances own the story or characters of the anime or manga known as _Fruits Basket_. All of those rights belong to the author Natsuki Takaya. I do however claim ownership over the character known as Kaoru.

* * *

**Chapter One **

**Deja Blue**

'It's a dream. Just remember that it's a dream…'

_A dream it may have been, but, for someone like Hatori, something like this could have easily been mistaken for reality. For even here, he was still alone and the gash deeply embedded within his heart still burned with both the guilt and the loneliness left behind from a love long gone yet unwilling to be forgotten. Here he sat alone, lost within his memories of long ago, while the rest of the world continued to pass him by. No one bothered to look at him. No one dared to comfort him. They moved on with their lives as they always did; only concerned about themselves, never Hatori._

"_Why is it?" Hatori asked himself quietly. "Why is it that the whole world can continue to move on… and I can't? Am I that broken inside?" Silence was his only reply. Slowly, he lifted his right arm and placed it gently over the left side of his chest, feeling his heartbeat. Its beat came softly, almost painfully. Quietly, he let his arm fall back into his lap and his head fall lower to the ground. Lying there silently at his feet was a small white butterfly fluttering with all its might to left itself up off the ground. After several failed attempts, the tiny butterfly gave up and laid there motionlessly on the ground. Hatori smiled sadly at the beautiful insect and softly brushed a finger over one of its delicate and motionless wings._

"_You and I are a lot alike little one. No matter how hard we both try, our attempts are always in vain. Of course, broken wings like yours can always be mended, but…broken hearts like mine can never be healed." Tears began falling silently from his eyes._

"_You so sure?" _

_Hatori started at the unexpected sound coming from above. Looking up, his dark olive eyes collided with the bright baby blue ones of the young girl standing in front of him. Through their endless depths, Hatori could make out feelings of hope, pity, wonder, joy, sadness, but the one that stood out the most were the deep traces of love that he found swirling in her eyes. Her smile was sad, almost as if- no, she did understand. Something in both her smile and her eyes had made it quite clear that the girl standing before him did indeed understand the sorrow that was deeply tormenting his soul. _

_Suddenly, she broke eye contact and looked down at the butterfly lying limp at his feet. Slowly, she knelt down on her knees and scooped the tiny creature up into her hands. Long, cascading strands of light brown hair fell down over her eyes and shoulders as she bent her head down closer and closer to butterfly in her hands. Hatori watched in silent awe as the girl whispered something softly to the butterfly before she bent down just close enough to gingerly brush her soft pink lips against its broken wing. Slowly, the small, beautiful insect began to move its wings and a bright light radiated from its body. The young girl looked up from her hands and stared deep into Hatori's eyes. At first she just stared, then her lips began to move. Slowly, they began to form beautiful but yet haunting words, words that would forever rest deep within the bowels of the dragon's mind._

"_Please…don't give up on me yet…Hatori…"_

_With those parting words, the dream quickly faded into the darkness to where the real nightmare began._

* * *

**BEEP…BEEP…BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEPPPPP!**

Hatori started as the annoying sound of his beeper went broke through the silence of his car. Suddenly realizing where he was, Hatori quickly shook off the memories of dream and grabbed his pager off of his belt. His eyes rolled in exasperation as he read the flashing message: _AKITO SICK! COME ASAP!_

Replacing the pager at his side, Hatori pinched the bridge of his nose and breathed in deeply.

"That boy is going to be the death of me," he muttered silently to himself as his hand guided itself back toward the steering wheel and his eyes back to the traffic light. It still was flashing red. Hatori let out a sigh of relief, thanking God that his unexpected daydreaming hadn't caused him to have a traffic accident. 'But,' he couldn't help but wonder, 'who was that girl…?'

Hatori was so caught up in his thoughts that he didn't feel his foot slide off of the brake pedal just enough that the car began to slowly move toward the crosswalk and the center lane. He quickly slammed back on it as he felt the wheels silently creep forward a couple of inches and saw a bright blue blur passed slowly in front of his windshield. Trying hard to regain his composure, he felt his gaze move up and come face to face with a pair of familiar baby blue eyes. A few wispy stands of light brown hair fell across her pale face, the rest tied in low bun at the nap of her neck or hidden under a bright blue cap that rested on top her head.

The girl stopped briefly in the middle of the crosswalk as she saw Hatori's car slightly move forward across the lines. Both her face and her eyes held emotions of fear, shock, and confusion as the car came in mere inches of hitting her. Getting over her shock, the girl threw her backpack back over her shoulder and continued walking at a normal pace, glancing back only briefly to catch a glimpse of the driver before moving on down the street.

Hatori watched as the girl continued walking down the sidewalk, stopping briefly at a bus stop and make a call on the payphone. 'Those eyes,' he thought, 'could that be the same girl…'

The sound of a car horn going off in his ear jolted Hatori out of his thoughts and turned his attention back to the traffic light, which now was flashing the color green. Placing his foot gently on the accelerator, Hatori drove smoothly down the street back towards the Main House. The whole way home, he struggled in vain to shake the memories of the young girl in his dreams and the teenager on the street out of his head. But no matter how hard he tried, he could not escape them. The girl with the bright baby blue eyes had completely captured Hatori within their deep, endless pools, and had no intention of letting him go.

* * *

Far across town, in a house buried deep within a forest glade, the acclaimed novelist Shigure Sohma sat comfortably at the dining room table reading his newspaper. His two younger cousins, Yuki and Kyo, where both out at the moment, one possibly training and the other at his secret base, while his little housekeeper was busy in the kitchen washing and putting away the lunch dishes. Yes, it was indeed yet another peaceful, more like uneventful, afternoon within the Sohma household. That is, until…

**BRIIIIIIIIIIIING!**

Shigure looked up startled as the sound of the telephone rang throughout the room.

**BRIIIIIIIIIIIING!**

Slowly, he eased himself up off his cushion and walked curiously towards the phone. Looking up at a clock hanging on one of the walls, he read the time: 1:15. 'Who in the world would be calling at this time of day?' Shigure pondered this question as he began to reach for the reciever. 'Oh, I hope it's my editor!'

**BRIIIIIIIIIIIING!**

A sense of giddiness filled Shigure as he quickly picked up the receiver and placed it gently to his ear.

"Sohma residence, Shigure speaking!"

"Um, hello. I'm sorry, I'm actually looking for a Miss Tohru Honda… but I guess I have the wrong number. I'm sorry for disturbing you."

'Tohru? It's a call for Tohru?' This was a rare thing indeed. Especially since it was a female's voice that was on the other line, and an unfamiliar one at that. Quickly, Shigure got back onto the phone and began to speak just as the other person was about to hang up.

"No, wait! Don't hang up. Actually, you have the right house. Hold on just a second. TOHRU!"

CRASH! The sound of dishes breaking on the kitchen floor echoed throughout the once peaceful halls as the annoying sound of Shigure's voice broke through the bubble of young Tohru Honda's thoughts, catching her completely off guard. Momentarily forgetting about the broken dishes, Tohru quickly ran out of the kitchen and into the study where she came face to face with the grinning dog. His hand outstretched, offering her the phone.

"It's for you my little flower!"

Tohru blushed a bright red as she gingerly took the phone from Shigure's outstretched hand.

"Hello, this is Tohru."

Shigure once again sat down at the table and began watching his little flower's phone conversation with interest. It was exceedingly rare that she ever received any calls, especially one made by someone outside of the Sohma family. He also couldn't help but notice the young girl's sudden change in expression as she continued to talk to girl on the other end of the line. He watched as Tohru's features went from timid and unsure to amazed and uncontrollable delight. 'That must be one heck of a phone call,' thought Shigure as he sat there at the table staring now intently over his newspaper.

After a few more minutes of talking, Tohru practically threw the phone back down upon its cradle and ran out the side door, coming back only briefly to grab her shoes and yell a joyous goodbye. "Bye Shigure! I'll be back in time to make dinner!" With that, she quickly closed the door and once again began sprinting her way across the lawn, leaving a dazed Shigure in her wake.

Shigure sat there in amazement, a look of shock plastered on his face. 'Whoa, I had no idea she could even run that fast!'

"Um…be safe Tohru."

Turning around slowly, Shigure found himself staring intently at the spot where only moments ago Tohru had been standing in amazement as she talked on the phone. The phone! His gaze once more shifted over towards the black contraption as a question popped into his head: Who on earth was that?

* * *

Tohru ran like grease-lighting across the forest path and through the streets of town, stopping only to briefly apologize to whomever she had run into while on her way. Faster and faster she flew down the sidewalk, quickly gaining speed with every turn.

Inside her head, Tohru went over the exciting phone call she had received only moments before. 'Oh my gosh mom, I can't believe that she's here! I can't believe it, after three years, she's finally come home!' Within her chest, Tohru could feel her heart begin to skip a few beats as her legs began running even faster. 'I'm almost there,' she said within her mind, 'Just one more corner…' The end of the curb came up quickly and Tohru dodged it in just enough time to miss an approaching car. Bended over and clasping her knees, she tried to regain control over her heavy breathing and now jelly constructed legs. 'Wow!' she thought, 'I never knew I could run that fast!'

"Tohru?"

Tohru looked up at the sound of her name, gasping when she saw the face of the one who spoke to her.

"It's you…!"

Both her face and her voice at the moment showed signs of disbelief. But those features quickly vanished as a joyous smile began to spread across the young girl's face. Both of them stood there smiling at each other for a while, both trying desperately to find a word or an action to express to one another. However, it was Tohru who made the first move. Unable to control her happiness any longer, Tohru leapt at the other girl with lightening speed, her arms reaching out and waiting to embrace her companion. Grabbing a hold of the girl at last, Tohru laughed and smiled as she cheerfully welcomed the girl she was joyously hugging.

"It's you! It's really you!" Tears began forming in her eyes, but Tohru didn't notice. And even if she did, there was no way that she would ever dare to break the hug just to wipe them away. This happiness meant everything to her right now.

"Welcome home!"

* * *

"Damn it, I'm hungry!" grumbled the hungry and tired Kyo as the roaring sound of his stomach began to grow even louder. "Where the hell did you say Tohru ran off to again?"

"Yes, Shigure. Where exactly did Miss Honda run off to? It seems that you have neglected to mention such a detail in your previous explanation," his cousin Yuki asked as he finished sweeping up the last of the broken lunch dishes off the wood floor of the kitchen.

"If I knew," grumbled Shigure as he snuffed out his cigarette, "wouldn't you think that I would have told you already? In any case, stop your complaining. I'm sure our little flower will be returning home any minute now and we'll be having dinner shortly. You two seriously need to work on your patience levels."

"Yes, maybe you're right," agreed the rat as he lifted the lid off the trashcan and slid the last broken pieces of china in with all the others leftover from earlier that day. Kyo, however, was less reasonable on the subject.

"Man, to hell with that!" he scowled, "I'll just make something myself."

"Hold on Kyo, I have a better idea." Shigure, now sensing a perfect moment to annoy his younger cousin, pulled out from behind his back a bowl of miso and waved it in front of Kyo's face. "We can snack on these to tie us over until Tohru gets home!"

Kyo, upon seeing the miso, flushed in anger and violently lashed out at both the food and its bearer, smacking the bowl to the floor.

"ARE YOU CRAZY? YOU KNOW DAMN WELL I HATE MISO!"

Shigure, putting on a mask of mock anguish, replied dramatically, "You know, you shouldn't waste food like that. Terrible!"

"ARRRRGGGGHHH!"

In the kitchen, the young rat only shook his head at the embarrassing behavior of his cousin. "Stupid cat," he mumbled.

"Huh? What was that you damn rat?"

Suddenly the sound of the sliding door echoed throughout the room, causing everyone to freeze in place. The distant sound of shoes could be heard slipping off a pair of feet and landing on the floor. The first one to say anything was Shigure.

"There, you see! Here she is now!"

The soft padding of socked feet could be heard moving across the floor and then the sweet sound of Tohru's voice begin to ring throughout the hallway as door to the dining room was slowly pulled open.

"Hi everyone, I'm home!"

"Ah, Miss Honda! Welcome h-" Yuki stuck his head out of the kitchen but quickly fell silent, as well did everyone else, as his eyes took notice of the other person also standing within the doorframe next to Tohru.

She was a tall girl, about as tall as Tohru's friend, Uo, with bright baby blue eyes and light brown hair that was tied neatly in a low bun near the nape of her neck. She had a mature looking face that, if Yuki had to guess, made her appear to be no more than eighteen years old. The very sight of this unfamiliar girl caused everyone to fall deadly silent and freeze like a group of deer in front of a pair of flashing headlights. Sensing the tension in the room, Tohru gave a small, nervous laugh as she quickly turned her attention toward the panicking group of Sohmas and began the introductions.

"Um…everyone, I would like you to meet my cousin, Kaoru."

* * *

**Author's Note**: Wow! My first fanfic! I feel like celebrating! PARTY! PARTY! Anyway, please don't forget to review. Feedback, as we all now, is essential to writing a story. However, I must ask you to be gentle. This is my first one after all! But please, I strongly encourage any tips you guys may have that might help me later in the future. Thank you. Your time and words are very much appreciated.

Sincerely,

Tori the Fanfic Fan


	2. Blame It On the Weatherman

**Disclaimer**: I, Tori the Fanfic Fan, hereby testify that I do not under any circumstances own the story or characters of the anime or manga known as _Fruits Basket_. All of those rights belong to the author Natsuki Takaya. I do however claim ownership over the character known as Kaoru.

**Dedication**: This chapter is dedicated completely to my friend Francis, who I am honored to say was my first reviewer! Thanks Francis! And to everyone else, please enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter Two **

**Blame It On the Weatherman**

The sudden roaring of thunder and flashing of lightening lit up the gloomy world that served as the home of one Dr. Hatori Sohma. Sealed away in the dark, the depressed doctor sat quietly at his desk prompted over a large file folder overflowing with charts, prescriptions, and weekly, sometimes daily, health reports. A lit cigarette and the occasional flashes of lightening served as unintentional light sources.

If one was to listen closely, you could make out the faint sound of a scribbling pen moving hastily over yet another health report concerning the well-being of a certain Sohma family member.

_Saturday, 19 Aug. 2006_

_7:58 pm_

_Subject: Sohma, Akito_

_Patient complained to suffer from frequent pains in the chest and lower abdomen earlier in the day. Mild medication was prescribed and the patient was sentenced to bed rest. Later in the afternoon, a fever of 101.3 degrees had arisen and immediate precautions were taken to comfort the patient and lower his temperature. At 5:36 p.m., the fever went down to 100.7 degrees. Currently, the fever is still above normal but precautions are still being used. Bed rest is still heavily advised for the next few days._

_Hatori Sohma, M.D._

Finally finished with his report, Hatori snuffed out his cigarette and leaned back into his chair. Sighing heavily, he felt his eyes drift up to the vacant space on his shelf where a picture of his beloved Kana once stood. After his conversation with Shigure and Ayame at the lake house last Golden Week, Hatori began taking small steps into moving on with his life, without Kana. Removal of the photograph was the first, and the most painful, step he had taken. The second step was a little less planned… and involved dreaming about a young girl with bright baby blue eyes...

A suddenclap of thunder shook the small apartment and turned Hatori's attention away from the now vacant shelf and towards the rain covered window.

'It's coming down really hard,' he observed. 'A person would have to be crazy to go out on a night like this…'

* * *

Kaoru stood quietly at the base of the windowsill, watching intently as the rain continue to fall harder and harder, making it nearly impossible for her to go home. Though she would never admit to it in front of her cousin, Kaoru didn't feel very comfortable being around the Sohmas, much less the idea of having to spend the night with them due to the unexpected change in weather. To put it bluntly, dinner didn't go so well.

It took time, several minutes in fact, before the three men were finally put at ease over their unexpected guest's appearance. But still, Kaoru couldn't help but notice a slight tension form in the air as Tohru announced that she was indeed a relation of hers, from her mother's side to be exact. It made her wonder if there had been some sort of dispute between the families concerning a safe environment for Tohru. Possibilities at this point seemed endless.

As the evening progressed, the weather outside grew intense, as well did the weather inside. When it became certain that the roads were too bad to travel on, Tohru was granted permission by the eldest of the three men, Shigure, for Kaoru to spend the night. In return, Kaoru tried to display her thankfulness to them by hugging them. But oddly, they all backed away. At that moment, the deep feeling of displacement grew larger.

It was about to reach its maximum when Kaoru asked to make a phone call to grandmother, just to tell her not to worry. The entire time she was on the phone, she could fell inquisitive eyes watching her from behind the corners and perked ears listening in on the conversation. In the end, she was granted permission to spend the night.

But one thing was for sure, Kaoru did not feel the least bit welcomed.

The sound of creaking steps turned Kaoru's attention away from the window and towards the tall, masculine figure of one Kyo Sohma. Summoning up all her courage at once, she took in a deep breath and began forming within her mouth friendly words of acknowledgement that would, she hoped, lead to an equally friendly conversation.

"Good evening Kyo. How are you?"

Her words were met with silence. It seemed her luck had abandoned her this evening. She tried again.

"It doesn't look like it's going to let up does it? But thank you for letting me stay the night, I don't know what I would've done without the kindness of your family."

Again nothing. The orange haired boy gave a grunt in reply and continued his way down the hallway, not even bothering to turn around and face her before slamming the door to his room. Kaoru sighed in defeat and shuffled quietly into the brightly lit quarters comfortingly labeled as Tohru's room. She didn't bother closing the door behind her; she was suffocating enough as it is. Sitting down softly at the edge of the bed, Kaoru drew her legs up onto the mattress and hugged them tightly to her chest. Her head swam with the memories from earlier that evening; desperately she tried to piece together a conclusion to explain the odd behavior shown to her by the people her cousin had been praising none stop throughout her letters for the past eighteen months.

'Is my presence here _that_ uncomfortable? Do they think that I'm here to take Tohru away from them? What is it? What did I do to deserve to be treated like some sort of outsider?'

"Kaoru, are you okay?" The sound of Tohru's soft, concerned voice quickly broke Kaoru out of her trance and threw her back into reality. Trying desperately to reassure her cousin, Kaoru quickly dropped her legs to the floor and plastered a fake smile onto her face.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Thank you. But um…what've you got there?"

Taken back by the other girl's question, Tohru quickly looked down at her chest where she was clutching somewhat tightly to a large fleece blanket. Remembering the details of her earlier mission, the girl quickly recovered and answered Kaoru's question.

"Oh, I brought up an extra blanket. I remembered how cold you use to get at night when we were kids and I thought that you might want it." Gently, Tohru let loose of her grip and welcomingly offered the soft material to her older cousin, smiling the entire time.

"Thank you." A real smile now spread across Kaoru's face as she graciously accepted the offering of the blanket. This was one of the few acts of kindness she had received all evening. Now that she thought about it…"Hey Tohru, can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

Kaoru didn't really want to ask this question, in fear of offending her cousin. But she just couldn't help herself.

"Are the Sohmas usually that quite at the dinner table, or was it just me?"

The smile on Tohru's face slowly disappeared upon hearing the question. Looking down at her feet, she moved quietly over to the edge of the bed and sat down next to Kaoru.

"No, but…" her voice was a little shaky, "I didn't really think that they were _that_ quite. I mean…Shigure talked to you!"

That fact was indeed true. Although some of the questions he asked seemed to her more like the kind a police officer would ask a suspect at a crime scene. Minus the usual "Where were you when this incident went down?" routine.

"Yeah… sure… There were actually a couple of times I was afraid that he was going to ask me for my credentials as well as my fingerprints!" Kaoru laughed quietly at her own joke but quickly stopped when she saw a pained expression form on Tohru's face.

"Oh, Tohru, I'm so sorry." Kaoru brought her hand up and placed it on Tohru's shoulder, giving it a gentle and, hopefully, comforting squeeze. "I didn't mean to make you feel bad. I know how much living here and being with them means to you."

"Really?" Hopeful teal eyes peeked out at her under a mop of dark brown hair.

"Yeah. Believe it or not Tohru, you have a knack for writing your emotions down on paper. Maybe you should become a writer or something."

"What! Oh no, I could never become a writer! I'm really not all that good at writing! They were just gibberish, random scribbles! Half the stuff I said probably didn't even make sense! I ah…!" The gentle press of her cousin's finger upon her lips quickly silenced Tohru and helped her regaining her normal breathing pattern. Though she felt comforted to see her cousin's sudden change in emotions, Kaoru didn't want to risk Tohru hyperventilating over a silly thing like writing abilities.

"Well whatever they were, they truly showed me how much you love staying here. And if this is where you're happy… then you have my deepest and most heartfelt blessings, little cousin."

Silence filled the room. Everything, even time, seemed to freeze for that one split second as Tohru contemplated the words just spoken to her by her older cousin.

"You… do you really mean that Kaoru?"

The light of hope shinning in Tohru's eyes grew even brighter at the very mention of receiving her cousin's blessings in her decision to stay with the Sohmas. It was like a huge burden was suddenly lifted off of her chest and she could finally breathe at ease again, knowing that the one person she always counted on to play the roll of the older sister had no intention whatsoever to take her away from her new family simply because one gloomy evening full of misunderstandings.

"Mmhmm. And… maybe in time, I'll be able to fall in love with them too. I don't know, maybe they were just nervous tonight and they need to get to know me a little better. But whatever it was… I am more than willing to give them a second chance. Besides, to me, tomorrow always seems brighter than today."

In a sense, Kaoru was indeed lying through her teeth. Of course, she had no intention of just giving her okay and back away from the situation. One of the main reasons she came back to Japan was to be with her cousin and to watch over her until… a certain point in time. She had made a promise to Kyoko to always be there for Tohru whenever she needed a shoulder to cry on. Of course moving to the United States for a few years with her grandmother had indeed made keeping that promise a little hard. But with the adding of Arisa Uotani and Saki Hanajima to the equation, Kaoru couldn't help but feel just a tad bit more relaxed about the situation. But even now, no matter how much she felt out of place with the Sohmas, Kaoru couldn't help put feel that this was indeed the environment her little Tohru needed to be in; that they were the ones that she needed to be with.

Kaoru felt the wind suddenly being knocked out of her as Tohru forcefully leapt at her, hugging her waist and crying into her shirt. But even though tears were falling from her eyes, the little riceball never lost her smile.

"You don't know how much it means to me to hear you say that, Kaoru."

Kaoru felt tears gently working their way up into her eyes as she gently stroked Tohru's head. In the end, she was able to pry the girl away from her and the both of them spent a few minutes drying their tears.

"Even when it rains, it seems I'm still a very sentimental person."

The two girls broke out into a burst of laughter. Taking this chance, Kaoru gently tackled Tohru to the floor and began tickling her like when they were kids. Tohru giggled and tried to squirm away from the other girl but to no avail. Kaoru smiled and laughed along with her baby cousin, suddenly recalling all those times when they were together as children. And here they were again, almost completely grown up, but still they were together. This was indeed the first time Kaoru had genuinely laughed and smiled in a really long time.

* * *

Yuki stopped in the middle of the hallway, right in front of Tohru's room, when he heard the sound of joyous laughter coming from inside. His curiosity winning over his sense of chivalry, Yuki crept quietly over to the door and slipped it open just enough to catch a glimpse of the other side. Through the crack, the young rat could see the little riceball rolling around on the floor laughing gleefully while her older cousin was kneeling over her tickling her mercilessly. Both of them wore a smile and looked deeply content in their own little world, together where no one could ever bother them.

Smiling at the scene before him, Yuki gently slide the door back into place and just stood there in front of it, soaking in the happiness that seemed to radiate from the room. Suddenly, a painful clenching grasped his lungs and Yuki felt himself on the verge of coughing. Quickly making his way toward his room, he opened the door, closed it again, and let lose a horrible wind of painful, raspy coughs. The rain and the dropping temperature were indeed having a gloomy affect upon his asthma.

* * *

**Author's Note**: Chapter two is now up! Please feel free to review. I would be very much obliged!

Sincerely,

Tori the Fanfic Fan


	3. Outside of the Mind

**Disclaimer**: I, Tori the Fanfic Fan, hereby testify that I do not under any circumstances own the story or characters of the anime or manga known as _Fruits Basket_. All of those rights belong to the author Natsuki Takaya. I do however claim ownership over the character known as Kaoru.

**Reference:** **xenophobia- **the fear of strangers or foreigners

* * *

**Chapter Three**

**Outside of the Mind**

The storm clouds from the night before melted away at the first sign of daybreak, giving way to another perfect day. However, the storm brewing deep inside the walls of one Shigure Sohma's house had yet to completely blow over.

Kaoru's socked feet walked sleepily down the stairs, almost like she was sleepwalking. Despite the tension from last night, she was really looking forward to breakfast. She really couldn't wait to wakeup.

As she came down, she ran into Tohru coming up the stairs. They both smiled, exchanged greetings, and went their seperate way. Kaoru needn't ask her where to find breakfast; she could smell the sweet aroma from where she was. She was already starting to feel more awake. There was just something about pancakes that really made her feel alive in the morning.

Once she straightened up her hair and her clothes, a Myco concert shirt and denium capris, she slid the door open to the dining room and walked inside. Two of the three Sohmas were already sitting at the table. The oldest, Shigure, sat at the head reading the newspaper and drinking tea while one of the younger ones, Kyo, sat eating his breakfast. Neither looked up or said anything to greet her. So, naturally, everything was left up to her.

"Good morning."

Shigure was the only one to look up and reply. Kyo just continued with eating his breakfast.

"Ah, good morning Kaoru! Sleep well?"

The older man was much more cheery this morning. 'Tohru must have talked to them about last night,' Kaoru thought to herself.'Hopefully they'll feel a little bit more comfortable around me now.'

Situating herself in the same spot as last night, directly across from Kyo, she continued to exchange pleasantries with the older Sohma.

"Yes, thank you. And you?"

"Like a newborn pup!"

Shigure took a sip of his tea and soon buried himself deep into his paper again. Kaoru took this as a chance to talk to Kyo.

"And you, Kyo? Did you sleep well?"

Kyo looked up from his breakfast, his red eyes glared threateningly back into her own as if to say, "Go to hell!" Kaoru squirmed uncomfortably under his gaze. He, apparently, still disliked her company.

"Um…o-kay…" Looking back down at her breakfast, she began to fiddle with the corner of one of her flap-jacks. Kyo looked back down as well and continued to scarf down his food. The safest bet for a civil conversation seemed to still remain with Shigure.

'One down, two to go.'

"Hey um, Shigure?"

"Huh?"

The dog looked back up from his paper.

"I want to thank you again for allowing me to stay last night. Your generosity is very much appreciated. And I also wanted to apologize to the two of you if I did or said anything to make you feel uncomfortable."

A look of confusion passed over Shigure's face at the last comment.

"Uncomfortable? What would make you think you did anything to make us feel uncomfortable?"

Picking up her eating utensil, she begin digginginto her food.

"It's okay Shigure. You guys don't have to pretend anymore. Tohru explained everything to me last night."

A slight feeling of uneasiness suddenly plagued the atmosphere of the room. A dark and serious look now enveloped Shigure's features. Even Kyo seemed to stopscarfing to listen in on the conversation.

"Oh, Tohru explained everything, did she?"

Kaoru nodded gingerly. Something about Shigure's expression really made her feel uneasy.

"Yeah. And, really, it's okay. Xenophobia isn't really that big of a deal."

If she had waited a moment more before looking back down at her breakfast, Kaoru would have caught the passing signs of relief cross the two Sohmas' faces.

Kyo looked about ready to burst out in a rant but Shigure quickly silenced him by slamming a hand over the cat's mouth.

"Yep, that's us! One big xenophobic family!"

Kyo's muffled words grewquieter as he continued to struggle under Shigure's grasp, however the dog wouldn't let him go. He was afraid that Kyo's big mouth might spill something that he wasn't suppose to to their guest. However, unbeknownst to Shigure, Kaoru was already starting to suspect something. She was about ready to say something when Tohru ran down the stairs, panic written all over her face.

"SHIGURE!"

Everyone looked up and out into the hallway towards the hysteric Tohru. Shigure was the first to say anything.

"Tohru? What's wrong? Are you okay?"

Tohru took in a few shaky breaths before continuing.

"It's Yuki! I think he's having another asthma attack!"

* * *

Kaoru sat at the bottom of the stairs, her legs pulled up to her chest and her arms wrapped securely around them. Gazing off toward the kitchen, she could see Tohru's small slipper clad feet scurry franticly across the floor, hither and thither. What she was doing, the older girl could only guess. 

Hearing footsteps coming down, she turned her head back towards the stairs and watched anxiously as Shigure descended. Quickly, she stood up to greet him.

"Shigure," a cry of mild emotion flew from her mouth. "How is he?"

"The attack seems to be minor, but still," he paused for a second, glanced momentarily up the stairs, and added in a soft voice, "I better call Hatori."

The last part was directed more towards him then to her, but Kaoru still couldn't help but overhear it. Shigure looked back down and moved quietly to his study, sparing a quick glance towards the kitchen as he passed.

Karou walked quietly behind him before going into the kitchen. The whole time she wondered silently to herself, 'Who is this…Hatori?'

Something about that name seemed familiar…

* * *

Tohru buzzed frantically around the kitchen trying to make soup for Yuki. Kaoru stood nearby, trying desperately to calm Tohru down as much as she could, while Shigure was in his office making a call to who she assumed to be that "Hatori" person he had mentioned earlier. The other boy, Kyo, seemed to have disappeared. After hearing about Yuki, he excused himself from the breakfast table and slinked out of sight. Looking back on it now, Kaoru couldn't help but recall the look of disgust Kyo wore on his face when he first heard the news from a certain hysteric rice ball. It was almost as if he was…jealous? 

'I guess second helpings at dinner isn't the only thing those two boys fight over. I wonder if she has ever taken notice of their behavior-'

CRASH! A bowl of vegetables fell to the floor at Tohru's feet.

'Then again, Tohru was always a little bit on the clueless side.'

As Tohru quickly fell down to her knees to collect the fallen ingredients, Kaoru gracefully knelt down and placed a comforting hand on the young girl's shoulder, squeezing it gently.

"Tohru, you need to calm down. I'm sure that Yuki's going to be just fine. Shigure said that was just a mild attack-" She was quickly interrupted by Tohru's fervent voice.

"But what if it gets worse before Hatori gets here? What if he falls into a coma or something? I don't remember him coughing so much the last time! I don't really know what I can do to help him!"

Another tender squeeze was applied to her shoulder, trying desperately to be comforting.

"Kiddo, you're not going to help him by making yourself sick. Just take a deep breath; we're going to get through this. It's going to be okay."

Tohru gave a small sniffle and tiny fragments of tears could be seen gathering in her eyes. Kaoru could feel her heart clinch in her chest: her "Big Sister" instincts were once again going to push her out of her newly constructed comfort zone. She sighed, and complied.

"I'll tell you what, you stay here and finish the soup, and I'll go up and check on him. And if anything happens, I promise to come down right away and tell you. Okay?"

Kaoru was not exactly crazy about the idea, but what else could she do? She couldn't bare to watch Tohru cry; the feeling of guilt wasn't exactly weighing pleasantly on her conscience! Besides, Yuki might actually need someone to check in on him again.

Another tiny sniffle escaped Torhu's mouth as she quietly gave a reply.

"Okay."

The deal was sealed.

* * *

Kaoru walked silently down the length of the hallway before stopping in front of a door to which she assumed was Yuki's room. She hesitantly knocked three times before she heard an answer. The call was so faint that she almost would have missed it if not for the loud coughing which followed soon after. 

Slowly, she slid the door open to the room. What she saw next was anything but surprising. Everything she saw, from the neatly organized papers on his desk to the mint-conditioned furniture, was exactly the way she thought it would be. Like Yuki himself, everything was composed, organized, and charming. Perfect, perfect, perfect.

'Almost too perfect… He doesn't make gourmet meals and do his own laundry by any chance, does he?'

COUGH!

Anotherraspy coughbroke her train of thought and made her take notice for the first time the pale, fevered form of one Yuki Sohma, still dressed in his nightly wear and tucked snuggly under the covers. A bag of ice rested under his head to cool his fever.

"Hey, Yuki. How are you feeling?"

Moving up closer to the bed, Kaoru placed a cool hand upon the surface of Yuki's face, checking for a rise in temperature. He was warm, but he wasn't sizzling. Replaying Tohru's report in her head, it actually seemed as if Yuki had calmed down a little bit since twenty minutes ago. Slight coughing and wheezing was still evident, but nothing too serious. 'Must be a good sign…'

"Miss Miyamoto?" his eyes peeked open a bit to see her face, "What are you---?" Another cough erupted from his throat, making him unable to finish his question.

"I volunteered to check up on you, to make sure you were okay. And also to set Tohru's mind at ease that you weren't going to die on us. Do need anything? Water, a blanket?"

"Um…no… thank you."

Dark purple clashed with baby blue as both the rat and the cousin stared quietly at each other, neither really knowing what to say. Kaoru took this as her chance to leave.

"Okay then…well… I guess I better go…"

Before either one of them new it, she was already at the door and ready to wrench it open. However, a small, weakened voice prevented her from going anywhere just yet.

"Miss Miyamoto… may I…(cough)… ask you a question?"

Turning around slightly, she once more locked eyes with boy in the bed.

"Yeah…sure…"

Yuki paused, took in a few breaths, and continued with slight hesitance. Apparently, she wasn't the only one emotionally uncomfortable in the room.

"Forgive me but…(cough)… are you here to take Miss Honda away from us?"

Kaoru was taken aback by the question. Was Yuki really trying to open up to her about last night? She had to know.

"Is that why you guys acted the way you did last night? It was because you all were afraid that I came back to Japan to take Tohru away from you?"

Yuki looked down and blushed deep with embarrassment. Not even the slight pink from his fever could hide it.

"We must have seemed rather cold and distant to make you think that, didn't we?"

Now fully turned around and facing the bed, she walked with a much less timid step back towards him. Gracefully, she knelt down by the side of the bed.

"Not as much as you may think. But let's just say that when it comes to first impressions, you Sohmas haven't exactly won a gold metal with me."

Yuki smiled and laughed delicately at her comment. The laugh however was short-lived as it soon erupted into a painful fit of coughs. Kaoru quickly eased Yuki off his pillow and into a sitting position. Her hand went to his back, patting him softly to try to calm him down. The manner in which she showed reminded the young rat of an older protective sister looking out for her sick baby brother. It gave him a sense of security knowing that she was there, though in some ways he wished that it was Tohru who was there instead of her.

After the coughing died down, Kaoru gently pushed Yuki back onto the pillows but not before she stood them up, fluffed them, and replaced the ice pack for him; a sisterly instinct mixed with a debtor's sense of duty. However, it was the words that came next which really surprised him.

"You know Yuki, someone once told me that to truly love someone means to always put their feelings before your own. Even…even though it may seem painful to watch that person find happiness with another and… the world may seem lonelier without them always being there at your side… it's important to always remember that love…_true_ love is infinite. You can always make more… The heart really isn't as small as some people may think…"

Her words stunned Yuki greatly with their deep sense of sincerity, even the small tear that fell from her eye couldn't hide from him how deeply she cared for their little flower,their beloved Tohru. Kaoru wasn't the only one who felt guilt today.

'I think…we've made a terrible mistake…'

"Miss Miyamoto…"

Kaoru took in a deep breath and quickly removed the tear from her face. She wasn't finished yet.

"It's because I know this that I would never take Tohru away from something that makes her happy. I would never take her away from the people she loves… no matter how bad the first impression may have been."

She laughed slightly at her own joke and Yuki's blush grew even brighter at the last comment.

Kaoru reached up her hand and placed it on the bed, right on top of Yuki's and squeezed it both gently and in a friendly manner. She didn't fully understand the cause of this particular action, but, for some reason, she felt the need to make a promise. _The_ promise.

"Don't worry Yuki, Tohru's not going anywhere; neither by me nor by any other force of humanity."

Sliding her hand over, she hooked her pinkie finger gently with his.

"I promise."

She felt Yuki's finger tighten slightly around her own, saying that he accepted the promise.

Letting go of one another, Kaoru stood up and slid her hands into the pockets of her capris. Silence once again filled the room; but this time, it was much friendlier.

Clearing her throat, Kaoru broke the silence once again.

"Well, I guess I better go check on Tohru to see if the soup is ready. You take it easy until then, okay?"

"'Kay."

For the second time that morning, she saw a shy smile break across the younger boy's face. In her heart, she felt as if that was his way of saying 'I'm sorry'. She, of course, had already forgiven him.

As she began to walk back towards the door, a thought from earlier made her stop in her tracks.

"Oh, uh, by the way…Yuki, your family really isn't xenophobic, are they?"

A rather comically confused look stamped itself onto the young rat's face. If he hadn't been sick, Kaoru would have exploded with laughter and be rolling on the floor at the hysterical expression.

"Pardon?"

"Nothing, nothing! Never mind. Just mindless babble! Take it easy, okay?"

She quickly excused herself, walked a few feet down the hall, and exploded in a fit of hysterical laughter. A few minutes passed before she finally felt the ability to compose herself.

'This visit may not have been such a bad idea after all.'

Her feelings of hysteria finally settled, the girl turned around to what she thought was a wall but instead found a small outer window. Looking up at the sky, she smiled as she watched the fluffy, white clouds float by and the sun shine down upon the world as if it too were smiling.

"It's going to be a beautiful day."

She turned away from the window's view just as a dark, western style car began to pull up in front of the house.

* * *

Hatori didn't need permission to come in. He was family after all as well as the Sohma doctor. He had perks higher than usual visitor's knocking. Besides, they were expecting him. 

Sliding open the side door, he absentmindedly removed his shoes out of habit. But before he stepped even further in the house, he stopped when he noticed an extra pair of shoes nestled securely between his own and the other usual four sets. They looked to be a pair of girl's tennis shoes with a "no boundaries" brand mark and strong signs of being well broken in. What scared him was the fact that none of the Zodiac women owned such a pair of shoes.

'Is there another outsider staying here?'

"Ah, you're here finally."

The dragon looked up at the sound of the dog's greeting. Shigure by this time had come out of his office and noticed the doctor just standing there at the door, his eyes fixated on a pair of shoes.

"Hey. The door was unlocked so I let myself in. Where's Yuki?"

Shigure smiled and jabbed a finger into the air, motioning to the floor above them.

"He's in his room and in bed. If I'm not mistaken, Kaoru went up there a little while ago to check up on him. She should be down in a minute."

The unfamiliarity of a name caught the dragon's attention.

"Who's this…Kaoru?"

"Shigure, is that-," Tohru stepped out of the kitchen, a steaming bowl of leek soup held securely within her oven mitt hands. "Oh, hi Hatori!"

Hatori bowed his head slightly in a respectful greeting to the little rice ball.

"Good morning Miss Honda. Were you about to take that up to Yuki?" His good eye had noticed the steaming substance.

"Huh? Oh, yes I was! I thought some leek soup would help him feel better. But if-" Tohru stopped when she heard a familiar sound of socked feet coming down the stairs. She gave a small gasp. "Kaoru! How is he? Is Yuki okay?"

'Kaoru?' the look of confusion returned to the doctor's face. 'Who is this-'

A soft but mature feminine voice interrupted his train of inner thought. A voice he thought he would never hear outside his dreams.

"Yes, but his still coughing quite a bit. Is this the doctor?"

Tohru smiled and nodded in reply.

"Uh-huh! Hatori, I would like you to meet my cousin, Kaoru Miyamoto. She just moved back from the U.S. Kaoru, I would like you to meet Hatori Sohma. He's the family doctor."

Hatori could feel his heart bound heavily within the cage of his chest. In his mind he could already picture the girlof dreams standing there on the last step, her light brown hair elegantly pulled up, and her blue eyes glowing with an immeasurable amount of light. Turning around hesitantly, he found himself staring dead on into a pair of deep baby blue eyes.

However, the gasp that followed wasn't his. Rather, it was Kaoru. She recognized him, too.

"I-it…it's you!"

Hatori just stood there, locking his eyes with hers. His face didn't show any expression but inside he was as astounded and frightened as the young woman standing before him. He didn't know what to say. What do you say when finally come face to face with the person who haunts the deep depths of your subconscious 24/7?

"Yeah."

Well, surely no that! Hatori mentally kicked himself over his lame reply.

'Maybe I should take Shigure up on his offer and write that book: "How to Offend Women in Five Syllables or Less".'

But the girl, Kaoru, did something he did not expect; she stepped down off the last stair and walked over to him. Without warning, she dipped into a deep and respectful bow, smiling even as she came up. Her cheerful greeting matched beautifully with her smile.

"Nice to meet you… Hatori."

* * *

**Author's Note:** FINALLY, it's done! Okay, you guys know the drill: I write, you send reviews, I get impatient waiting for them! Oh well, that's the dramatic life of an amateur writer. Que sera, sera! 

Until next time,

Tori

**Fact:** Kaoru's a monkey; she's two years older than Tohru. Zodiac charts say that the best compatibility for monkeys is found with rats and dragons. But don't worry; this is still a "Hatori romance" story! Kaoru only thinks of Yuki as a little brother figure. And, as you have read, Yuki does not (and will not EVER!) harbor romantic feelings for Kaoru! So please don't romanticize them!


End file.
